South American Crime Gang Allegedly Bribed Australian Soccer Athletes for Fixed Matches
Three soccer players from Australia's A-League have been arrested in relation to a betting corruption inquiry. The men are suspected of tampering with the number of yellow cards issued in at least four matches during the last six months.
Although the identities of the players and the club have not been revealed, media outlets in Australia have reported that they are from Macarthur FC, a team situated in southwestern Sydney.
The three players implicated are 33-year-old team captain Ulises Dávila, a Mexican national, 27-year-old Clayton Lewis, a New Zealander, and 32-year-old Kearyn Baccus, who hails from South Africa. All three have represented their countries in soccer.
Organized Crime Roots
The investigation was initiated by New South Wales' Organized Crime Squad Gaming Unit in December 2023, following a tip-off from the UK Gambling Commission. They discovered that a "senior player" was being bribed by a gambling syndicate in South America to organize yellow cards during matches.
This player had connections with a "controller" or organized crime figure, who was based in South America. The player's role was to "ensure that certain events occurred within games to permit illegal gambling on those events," as per police statements. He is said to have paid the other players up to AU$10,000 (US$6,500) per yellow card.
The match between Macarthur and Melbourne Victory on November 24, which finished in a 1-1 draw, is one of the games believed to have been manipulated. Dávila received a yellow card during this game.
Another match saw Macarthur receive four yellow cards, one each for Dávila, Lewis, and Baccus. The squad is also believed to have attempted to fix the number of yellows in two more games, but were unsuccessful.
"In relation to one of the matches, there’s multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars being paid out [in gambling winnings]," said Det Supt Peter Faux.
A-League's Rocky Road
Macarthur FC expressed dismay at the developments in a brief statement released Friday. "The integrity of our game is a foundation pillar, and we will work closely with all relevant agencies on this matter,'' they stated.
The 33-year-old player was charged with two counts of corrupting a betting outcome and two counts of corrupting a betting outcome on Friday. The 32-year-old and 27-year-old were charged with one count each of corrupting a betting outcome. The 33-year-old is scheduled to appear in court on June 24.
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Source: www.casino.org
